1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plant drainage/feeder system, especially the drainage and feeding of fluid through a portal of a plant-containing vessel. More particularly it is concerned with apparatus mounted on a pot so as to provide advantageous drainage of waste water away from the floor or deck where the pot is standing, and the feeding of new water into the interior of the pot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plant pots come in a variety of sizes and shapes but typically have a hole or drainage portal in the bottom to allow for gravitational drainage of water, which may include used plant food or the like. While the drainage hole is designed to allow the fluid to escape the pot, such a passive system creates several problems. Often the pot is standing on a saucer-like plate having an upstanding rim to catch and contain the water. The problem is that the drainage water stands in the plate until it evaporates, is manually removed or recycled into the topsoil of the plant.
Manual removal of the water sometimes does not occur as often as desirable for any number of reasons, e.g. the plant owner may be absent for an extended period, may simply forget or the pot may be heavy or difficult to lift. The drainage water may therefore be left standing for a long period of time, which is hygienically and esthetically undesirable.
Manual removal itself creates problems, since spillage sometimes occurs. Also the standing water can also overflow the saucer if not removed for an extended period. Further, it is evident that a system which eliminates the necessity for manual removal of water would be inherently desirable by reducing plant maintenance.
In addition to the drainage function, most plants require watering, feeding and fertilizing. Fertilizer solutions often take care of both the need for water and fertilizer. To the present time no system has effectively dealt with both drainage and feeding in one apparatus (for purposes of this document "feeding" shall be understood to include application of fertilizer, water and other beneficial substances). Therefore consumers must provide two systems: one for drainage, one for feeding. This lack of "one-stop-shopping" obviously increases cost and effort for the consumer. In addition, many feeder systems are awkward in that they feed from the top and thus are mechanically unstable, as well as aesthetically undesirable.
What is needed is a system that provides for both feeding and drainage in one system, in an aesthetically pleasing and mechanically stable fashion.